I worked on laying track on the last two sidings that needed them: Mitzel Coal located in B-Yard in York, and T.H. Knisely in Red Lion. I also worked on getting feeders attached, and getting everything tied into the power bus. I had put off finishing these last two sidings till I made the final decision on how they were going to be handled scenically. After studying all the photos I had on these two coal dealers I determined I can get away with foam ramps for each. Mitzel Coal's ramp was located in B-Yard and there was vegetation and a stockade style fence that blocked any view of the actual trestle from the yard. The coal delivery trucks were serviced on the other side in the coal yard which is not seen from B-Yard. So, a simple foam ramp and building flats will work here fine.
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| A view of the ramp going to the Mitzel Coal "trestle" in B-Yard. There is a slope down to the scale track on the prototype and a stockade fence. You'll see the coal cars on the "trestle" but not the actual structure. |
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| Mitzel Coal ramp is to the right of the scale track behind the fence and vegetation. Copyright photo courtesy of Dick Bradley. All rights reserved. |
After studying photos I determined the bottom part of the T.H. Knisely covered coal trestle was obscured enough by vegetation I can get away without detailing the bottom part of the trestle. Again, the dealer trucks and customers were handled on the other side of the building where it's not visible from the layout isle. I might use a small photo flat for the bottom so the little bit that might show through the vegetation will be convincing. Also, I'm stretching history a little here because the info that came with the photos said the trestle was out of service by 1940, 3 years before the time I'm modeling. I'm OK with that, since this adds another place to switch in Red Lion.
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| Here is the ramp to T.H. Knisely Coal in Red Lion, PA. |
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| T.H. Knisely covered coal trestle. Notice the vegetation growing around the bottom of the trestle. The photo was taken in 1963 or 1964, and photographer was standing on front of
Ma & Pa locomotive #82 while diesel was pulling a freight
train north.
Photo from the Alan J. Frame collection used by permission of The Ma & Pa Historical Society archives. |
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| Another view of T.H. Knisely Coal from the cab of #82. Lots of vegetation visible on all sides of the building. Yes, this is a late picture,1963, which is a full 20 years after the time period I'm modeling, but I think since the east side of the building, the part facing the tracks, wasn't part of the coal yard's workings, it's plausible there wasn't much in the way of landscaping going on there. The photo was taken in 1963 or 1964, and photographer was standing on front of
Ma & Pa locomotive #82 while diesel was pulling a freight
train north.
Photo from the Alan J. Frame collection used by permission of The Ma & Pa Historical Society archives. |
The heat wave that had been plaguing NJ has subsided this week and I took the opportunity to get the chop saw outside and start cutting all the Masonite fascia boards that I had measured previously. I got them all cut and they are ready to go for the next time some of the guys come over to help out.
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| Masonite fascia sections laid out where they will be eventually fastened to the layout. |
More fascia ready to go.
Many thanks to Alan J. Frame for letting me use his images and to Rudy Fischer with helping me to get that permission. This is another example why belonging to a Historical Society is such a valuable resource!
Stay tuned for next time as we do some more blog roll house cleaning..
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